Episode 601: Opening of Heaven – Controversy over the First Law (4)
As the system passed through many difficult stages, the First Law became more and more solid.
In this process, King Sejong and his ministers often spent the night arguing. However, through such fierce war of words, the system of first-hand laws was refined.
Meanwhile, the person who was most shocked was Hyang.
‘really! ‘What era am I living in now?’
Hyang was truly experiencing culture shock.
The parts that clearly seemed like they would lead to big arguments were easily overlooked, and there were frequent cases where King Sejong and the ministers got into a fight of words with blood in their throats over parts that were thought to be inconsequential.
And as the war of words dragged on, King Sejong and the ministers all looked at each other.
“What does the Crown Prince think?”
“What do you think, Crown Prince?”
Every time I was asked a question like that, Hyang had to break into a cold sweat.
This was because there were more unexpected things than expected.
Thanks to this, Hyang had to desperately think about it every time he was asked this question.
“What Abamama said makes sense, and your opinions also make sense. So, let me think about it a little more.”
Hyang, who had avoided the crisis by answering like that, had to desperately think about it.
‘Roll over, you head! If you make a mistake, the image you have built up until now will be destroyed in one fell swoop!’
The image created by Hyang’s achievements so far was ‘non-knowledge.’ Because there was such an image, proxy cleaning was easy.
Even if Sejong was holding on to his back, he was absent. Therefore, if the ministers decided to set up a fishing ground, it was possible. But the reason that didn’t happen was because of the track record the fragrance had built up.
In any case, thanks to such desperate efforts and the knowledge and practical experience gained in the 21st century, the township was able to come up with a good intervention plan.
And King Sejong and the ministers who accepted the arbitration plan all gave favorable reviews.
“As expected, it’s Cesaro!”
“It is indeed so. “You are so outstanding, it is truly a blessing!”
Whenever King Sejong and his ministers praised him, Hyang lightly bowed his head and spoke words of humility.
“That’s too much praise.”
‘Haa~! ‘I barely got over the hurdle!’
Every time we passed a critical juncture, Hyang analyzed the cause.
“Why on earth did this happen? We must find out the cause! Otherwise, the future will be difficult!”
After a desperate analysis, Hyang was able to figure out the cause.
“Was the conclusion ‘the road not taken’? Isn’t it a ‘third way’?”
* * *
It is difficult to find a precedent for the political system currently expressed by the first law created by King Sejong.
It was neither a constitutional monarch nor a despot. But it wasn’t even a republic.
“If I were to think about it, it would be closer to a constitutional monarchy...”
Hyang whetted his appetite after seeing the analysis results in front of him. It was clearly a constitutional monarchy based on the law.
However, considering the famous proposition ‘reign but do not rule’, it could not be said to be correct. This was because the emperor was given great powers, including the right to veto.
However, it was difficult to view it as a despotic monarchy. Although the emperor had enormous authority, the institutional mechanism that prevented him from exercising that authority at will was specified in the first law. In addition, provisions regarding various rights, including human rights of the people, were clearly stipulated.
The ideology of the ruling party at this time also played a role.
One of the reasons for the revolution that changed Goryeo to Joseon was ‘saving the people who have fallen into ruin.’ For this reason, policies that placed considerable emphasis on the people were created.
Also, one of the fundamental ideologies of Neo-Confucianism was ‘royal politics.’ Therefore, while acknowledging the monarch’s despotic power, they did not forget to keep it in check.
In history before the intervention of Hyang, the place of ‘Constitution’ was occupied by ‘First Law’, and historians began to debate whether Joseon’s First Law was the modern First Law.
* * * The war of words between
King Sejong and the ministers over the first law in the 31st year of King Sejong’s reign (1449, Gisa Year)
ended in March. After a war of words that took place for nearly half a year, the first law was able to greatly improve its perfection.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
King Sejong, who accepted the revised version of the first law, praised the ministers.
“Thanks to your hard work, we were able to build a solid foundation for the empire.”
“No. “This was possible because Your Majesty had already paved the way well.”
Under King Sejong’s reign, the ministers, including Hwang Hui, all bowed their heads and spoke words of humility.
“Now then, let’s print these draft laws and distribute them to government offices across the country. “And let’s set up a room to look at this first law and discuss the problems.”
“yes? yes.”
Hwang Hui and the ministers were all surprised at King Sejong’s command, but soon resigned and responded obediently.
‘yes! ‘What kind of person is the chief minister!’
‘It would be strange if these words didn’t come out...’
The ministers who were so resigned soon came up with their own positive ideas.
‘Just... if I do well, I might be able to catch a big fish for the first time in a long time?’
* * *
According to King Sejong’s orders, the first law was distributed and rooms were attached to government offices throughout Joseon – from the northeastern region where Joseonization had already been completed to Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo.
“Examine the first law and discuss the problems?”
People who inspected the contents of the room entered the government office and raised their voices.
“I have come to examine the law!”
The tired officials responded by raising their hands and pointing at the Han people.
“Go over there and stand in line.”
“yes?”
There was a long line of people in the direction the official pointed.
* * *
The people’s reaction to the first law was quite enthusiastic. Because the number of people who wanted to read the law was so large compared to the number of legal codes distributed, documents from all over Joseon flocked to Hanseong requesting additional distribution.
“I didn’t know that the people would be so interested in the law.”
Hwang Hee immediately responded to Lee Sa-cheol’s words.
“The law is that which affects the people most and most quickly.”
Lee Sa-cheol nodded at Hwang Hee’s point.
“Ah...”
“But it is true that the response was hotter than expected. “I think writing in Jeongeum played a big role.”
All the ministers nodded at Kim Jeom’s words.
Meanwhile, King Sejong looked pleased after receiving the report.
“This is truly a good thing. “Isn’t it a good thing that all the people study the law so diligently and learn about it?”
“That’s right.”
While answering that question, Hyang was thinking of something else.
‘These people are accustomed to saying that they should follow the law, but now they will fight with trillions and thousands of clauses.’